


nightly routine

by svttv



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Pre-Canon, Pre-Relationship, they're just kids, whispering about stuff, why did catra blush when she said they whisper about stuff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-26
Updated: 2020-05-26
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:21:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,151
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24367228
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/svttv/pseuds/svttv
Summary: Catra and Adora whisper about things that are seen as forbidden in the Horde. (aka staying up all night whispering about, y’know, whatever..)
Relationships: Adora & Catra (She-Ra), Adora/Catra (She-Ra)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 181





	nightly routine

The nights in the Horde were always cold, but especially alone. Catra always used this excuse when she began to make home at the edge of Adora’s bunk.

It was the truth at first.

Soon though, the edge comfort of Adora’s simple presence kept her safe from more than just the cold. This is where she always came after a particular hard day of sparring, after Lonnie once again steals some of her ration bar, or Shadow Weaver reminding her just how much of a failure she was.

It also made sleepovers much easier and more frequent.

The small girl sits up on the bunk above her best friend’s and glances around the room, she quickly crawls to the edge and peaks below her to see if the other cadet was awake.

“Adora?” She whispers. Getting no response; she slips off the bed and lands on her feet directly in front of her.

“Adora!”

Adora begins to stir at this, one eye opening to see her friend sitting in front of her face. Catra’s face not faltering, and her nose twitching waiting for a response. Her knees were pulled into her chest and mismatched eyes staring directly into hers.

“Catra? What’s wrong?” She starts to pull herself so she’s sitting and at the same height as her friend.

“Nothing! You’re just being boring and sleeping. Come on! We don’t have any training until late tomorrow. We should stay up!” The girls voice gets slightly louder, barely a whisper at this point and it causes Adora to flinch and glance around.

Nobody around stirred, so the tension in her shoulders were able to dissipate. A smile breaks out on her face.

“You sure you just couldn’t sleep and wanted my company?”

Catra’s cheeks darken and her eyebrows furrow. She pushes Adora lightly, not enough to hurt her but enough to get her falling into a fit of giggles. “Whatever! I’ll just go back to sleep then.”

It was too dark in the room for Adora to see the color on her skin change, thankfully for Catra. Adora’s smile disappears almost instantly at this, “No! I’m teasing, of course I wanna have a sleepover,”

Catra immediately relaxes again, scooting closer so she can share Adora’s blanket. Their shoulders are touching and they immediately fall back into that comfortable routine they always can have effortlessly.

Soon, Adora looks to her side at Catra trying to stifle her laughter and can’t stop the wide smile that appears on her face. “You know, if you wanted—” Catra’s laugh immediately stops, and turns to look at her, waiting for her to finish.

“I mean you don’t have to, but I was thinking maybe you could just sleep in my bunk from now on,” She feels her cheeks getting warmer when there isn’t an immediate response and looks away from the girl’s gaze.

“I mean, so we can have a sleepover like all the time.” She finishes quickly.

Catra pushes her a bit with her shoulder and continues giggling. “Yeah, sure.” She tries her best to keep the smile out of her voice, but Adora hears it immediately and grins widely again.

Catra’s eyebrows shoot up at this, her smile stays small but present on her face. “Not because I like you or anything.”

Adora’s face almost hurts from how wide her smile is, throwing her arms around her best friend, who is only squirming away in response. “Okay, okay! You’re crushing me!”

The blonde backs up a bit, biting her lip; deep in thought.

“Okay bunkmate. What shall we do as our first official sleepover activity?”

Her friend’s eyebrows furrow, and her hand shoots up for her chin to rest on. “Hm, maybe we can put Kyle’s hand in a bowl and get him to wet himself again?” Catra suggests, already wiggling to get out of the covers, her tail flopping around happily.

Adora knows she doesn’t even need to answer, just jumps up as the two tip toe out of the dorm room.

It’s not that the Fright Zone is particularly bright during the day, but just a few windows would make it so it wasn’t absolutely impossible to see two feet in front of them. Adora struggles, tripping over a small piece of machinery when they turn a corner. “Ow!”

Catra immediately turns around; “Are you okay?” She reaches out for Adora’s hand, clasping it so she stays away from any more threatening corners.

Adora pouts a bit, but puts on a brave face for her. “I’m fine, just lead the way.”

Catra just let herself relax, taking the lead as they continue down the dark corridor to the kitchen to find a bowl to put the water in.

The two little girls finally turn down the hallway only to find that the cafeteria lights are already on. This causes Adora to gasp quietly behind her, and they both come to a stop. They turn to one another, exchanging a silent glance before Adora finally speaks up.

“Maybe we should go back?” Her eyebrows are furrowed, fearing for what could happen if they’re caught out of their bunk after curfew has long passed. There’s no response for a minute, but soon Catra’s eyebrows cast downwards and a mischievous smile appears.

“Come on, Adora. Are you scared?”

Adora didn’t want to admit defeat. She also didn’t want to risk Catra getting yelled at on their behalf again. If it was up to her, she’d willingly shield any harm from coming her way.

Not that she’d ever say that aloud.

“No! Let’s go.” She lifts her other hand to push her friend forward a bit, and they both begin walking towards the room.

They have their light footsteps to thank for the lack of sound they make, because their nervous breathing is almost loud enough on it’s own.

Their hands separate as they both peak around the corner to get a sight of who and what could someone be possibly be doing at this hour. Their eyes are immediately drawn to two figures in the corner of the cafeteria; sat right beside one another closely.

It was easy to spot Octavia’s outline from a mile away, but the woman with her Catra didn’t recognize. The two were speaking very quietly, and the girls couldn’t quite hear what was being said all from all the way next to the opening.

Adora’s head disappears back around the corner and pulls on Catra’s hand to get her to follow. Catra’s ears flatten against her head a bit as she turns back to the blonde.

“I can’t hear anything. Lets get closer.” Adora seems to be more determined than earlier, now fully committed to the delinquency. Well, if they get caught it at least needs to be worth it.

Catra only grins and nods, ducking down so they’re even smaller than they already are. She begins crawling ahead into the room and under a table near the kitchen, finally being able to decipher what was being said. Adora crawls behind her, not needing to really still be latching onto her friend but keeps clasped anyway.

They can see Octavia and her friend more clearly now, noticing that their ankles are intertwined and holding hands similar to the way Catra and Adora are.

The mysterious woman’s voice comes out in a whisper; obviously only intending for the woman next to her to hear. “One day we’re going to get out of here, just the two of us. We don’t have to worry about hiding anymore.” It comes out breathless, as if she doesn’t truly believe her own words.

Octavia’s head lifts up; “I’d do anything for that, but there’s nowhere for us to go.”

Catra has never heard the force captain ever sound sad before, it was a sign of weakness. It genuinely startled her for a split second.

“I love you, Octavia. I hate that our emotions are forbidden. I just want to be with you.” The woman’s breath stutters, a quiet sob leaving her throat.

“Love isn’t a weakness, don’t let whatever that imbecile Hordak says get to you. They can’t take away what you and I have.” Octavia’s voice is so soft, not gravely and loud like all the cadets are so used to.

The two women stop talking and look at each other, before leaning into one another a locking lips. Adora and Catra gasp in almost unison and look at one another. Adora’s cheeks are hot, and she can’t even truly explain why. Catra’s just as distraught and confused. Neither of the girls had ever seen anything like that happen before.

Catra’s eyebrows are furrowed deeply before she starts shoving at Adora’s shoulder to turn around. The taller girl still has the shocked look on her face but only nods and begins crawling rapidly from under the table and scramble back towards the hallway.

The two girls stay quiet as they tip toe back to their dorm room and make their way to sit on Adora’s, no their bunk. Both of them are quiet for a minute, completely forgetting about the prank they had intended to pull on their roommate.

“Did you see?“ They both talk at the same time, relaxing again and giggling at their mistake and just staring at one another.

Adora starts; “They were all close and touchy like we are! Then they did that thing with their faces? What was—” Catra’s face immediately scrunches up in response, thinking back to that horrifying display they’d just witnessed.

“It looked gross! I’ve never seen anyone do that. Octavia is so gross and weird!” Catra begins whining, nose still wrinkled and making gagging motions with her hand.

Adora’s eyebrows stay furrowed but she begins smiling sympathetically. “I don’t know. It seemed sweet. Maybe it’s a type of hugging?” Her lips pursed out, and her eyes casting downwards as if to look at her own.

Catra’s face stays scrunched up as she looked at her friend, one eyebrow raising in question. “A type of hugging?” She questions.

The blonde girl only shrugs; “I don’t know. It didn’t seem to be bad so it can’t be that gross.”

She tries to figure out what that could possibly mean, but her brain just seems to get even more mushy as it tries to figure out the situation.

Catra shakes her head, trying to free the image from her mind before speaking. “They also said Love. We aren’t allowed to say that.” Her eyebrows cast downwards. “I could tell Shadow Weaver and get them in trouble!” She continues, her face breaking out in a smile at the idea of getting revenge to the woman that was always so mean to her.

Adora isn’t fond of this idea. “Why aren’t we allowed to say love? Have you ever wondered that?”

Her voice is small, thinking back to how the women had their hands clasped together and how their ankles were intertwined, and how much she liked being that way with Catra.

“Because it makes us weak,” Catra says simply, quoting both Shadow Weaver’s and Hordak’s own words when the word had stumbled out of Kyle’s mouth one day after training.

The sad smile doesn’t leave Adora’s face when she looks up, her eyes darting over her best friend’s face.

“Isn’t that just a special word you use when you really care about someone? I’m allowed to say I care about you. So why can’t I tell you that I love you?” Thoughts are flying all around her head, she tries to silence them. As Catra once told her, thinking too hard makes her forehead bigger.

Catra grimaces at the word a bit, “I don’t know.” Her thumbs run over Adora’s hand in her lap, and look at Adora’s face as if she’ll suddenly come up with the answer.

Adora looks down at their hands for a second before, she lets her face relax again and smiles, head flying up to look at her friend again.

“I think that’s exactly why we should say it. We don’t have to let anyone hear us. It’ll just be between us. A best friend inside secret.” She nods furiously as if she’d just come up with the best possible idea in the world, looking at her with those big blue eyes in the dark.

Catra would be lying if she said she wasn’t entirely confused about what love even means. Something about the way Adora is smiling at her though, and the way she said it’s a best friend inside secret that only they’d have.

Adora won’t say it to Lonnie, or Kyle, or anyone else because Catra is her best friend. And that just makes it worth any possible consequences.

“Okay, idiot. I love you, then.” Catra’s tail circles around Adora’s waist and she begins purring before she’s able to stop it. She smiles anyway, yeah their best friend secret.

“I love you too!”

**Author's Note:**

> what were they whispering about. noelle please tell us. why did catra blush and bite her lip. (comments are always appreciated!!!)


End file.
